national flag

languages

Arabic and English

capital

Khartoum

One year ago, sitting in the library researching this subject, I never would have imagined that today I would be sitting in Sudan asking young men from Darfur what has happened to them over the past four years. Never could I have imagined, either, this globalized society in which we live - one that proclaims the dignity and rights of every person – permitting such atrocities from occurring, going virtually unnoticed.

Several boys have told me how, when fleeing their village from attacks, they were separated from their parents and have not seen them since, unsure if they are alive or dead. Another explained how he was wrongly accused of being a rebel solider, imprisoned for three days, tied up, beaten and tortured in an attempt to extract a confession. Almost everyone has had to flee their homes after the Janjaweed came to their villages, stole all their possessions and livestock, burned down their houses, killed their relatives and chased them to the nearest IDP camp. Many have scars from being grazed by bullets or hit by shrapnel from bombs. Everyone tells me life was good before; they were self-sufficient and happy. Now they live in fear, hiding the emotional and physical scars that come from living in a war-zone.

The bearers of these stories, young men from Nyala, South Darfur, are educated in the technical school where I currently reside. The idea behind the Darfur program is that it, if only for a year, removes them from what its director, Fr. Vincent Donati (an eighty year old Italian missionary dedicated to the service of humanity and love) refers to as the prisons of the IDP camps. It provides them with security and the opportunity to gain a technical skill, which increases their chances of one day finding sustainable employment. It is a program which combines both immediate relief and long-term development.

I have a new-found appreciation for the rights and liberties afforded to us as US citizens, ones that ensure our security and progress. I have also come to realize how much my friends and family are blessings in my life. I am inspired by this all – and now also by the people of Rwanda and Sudan.

- Matthew P.

the BANANA fUND

When the Banana Fund was started one year ago, never did we expect it to grow as much as it has. Its original purpose was only to raise necessary funds to supplement the diets of Children with bananas at a primary school and orphanage in Kigali, Rwanda. When we were moved to El Obeid, Sudan – and because of the success of the initial fundraising campaign made possible by generous donations from friends and family – the Banana Fund’s purpose expanded to help finance a number of worthy projects in both locations. It is a direct result of the love shown by the host communities to us and a similar love by the donors to the people of Rwanda and Sudan.

By the end of our service, donations from all over the US helped the Banana Fund reach a total of nearly $15,000. Benefiting Rwanda and Sudan equally, the money for Sudan is used in:

khartoum, sudan

On the outskirts of this sprawling metropolis, in a region called Shajara, the Salesian Sisters operate a centre which offers kindergarten classes, a medical dispensary and recreational site for children. The Centre primarily serves IDPs (internally displaced persons) from southern Sudan who fled to Khartoum during the civil war. The IDPs in and around Khartoum are one of the most forgotten people in the world as international attention is focused on Darfur and on the development of southern Sudan, not the IDPs struggling in Khartoum.

Construct a playground for children displaced by the war in southern Sudan

EL OBEID, SUDAN

The Don Bosco Vocational Training Centre has grown to accommodate an increasing number of Darfur IDPs, which the Centre removes from the camps in and around Nyala, South Darfur for one year and provides them with free education, room and board in El Obeid.

The Centre also educates, free of charge, sixty boys from the Nuba Mountains, a region in southern Sudan ravaged by forty years of civil war, and thirty street children from El Obeid. Their vocational education, coupled with classes in English and Arabic, exponentially increases their chances of finding life-sustaining employment, while an emphasis on peace building lays a foundation for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Darfur.

Purchase 100 English books and twenty dictionaries for use in the Darfur program English classes;

Print 100 English textbooks for use in the Darfur program English class;

Purchase 100 small pieces of luggage for the Darfur program participants and street children to protect their personal belongings;

Pay administrative costs for writing grants to fund the 2007-2008 Darfur program (which grants, to date, have garnered over $100,000);

Contribute to the running costs of the Darfur program;

note from frank and matthew

To the donors, we, personally and on behalf of the Salesians (SDBs and FMAs), of VIDES, and of the children of Rwanda and Sudan, thank you very much. We are inspired by your selflessness and sacrifice; we are honored by your friendship and trust; we are encouraged that, together, we can change the world. Thank you!

P.S. Although we are no longer in Rwanda and Sudan, donations can still be made to VIDES+USA to support its work of sending other volunteers all over the world. Additionally, other VIDES volunteers, currently in Rwanda and Sudan, continue to serve the projects in the locations named above. Again, thank you!